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CBD AND LEDs — Medical Marijuana ‘Gold Rush’ Compels Choices

2015.01.16

CBD or THC? LEDs or HID?

These are just two of the critical choices confronting cannabis growers – industrial, commercial or small consumer – as the “Gold Rush” from the $40 billion cannabis black market moves towards a multi-billion dollar, legalized medical marijuana market and rapidly spreads across the United States.

Making correct choices about the right crop and the right grow lights for that crop can mean the difference between success or failure for a grower. Fortunately, technology in the commercial grow operation allows for a much more agile decision making process. Software and more energy efficient grow hardware leverage growers into a much more favorable position. Specifically, technology like Heliospectra’s LED and accompanying software package, offer control over light recipes and massive operation lamp networking / timing. Light recipes - the combination of spectrum and intensity at any given point in a plant’s life - can aid the grower -enabling higher yield production and quality of crops.

CBD vs. THC

How does technology enable CBD production?

Cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – both of which belong to a unique class of compounds known as cannabinoids – are the two main ingredients in the marijuana plant.

While many strains of marijuana are known for having abundant levels of THC, less common high-CBD strains have recently started to draw attention from the medical community.

Unlike THC, CBD is non-psychoactive (no euphoric “high” for the user), a unique feature that makes CBD appealing as a component of medicine. Doctors generally prefer treatments with minimal side effects, and the euphoria that results from high THC content strain ingestion has been a major barrier to the acceptance for medical marijuana. In addition, CBDheavy strains have been used to treat younger children who suffer from various physical and mental ailments.

CBD in medical studies

CBD is key to the work of Dr. Sue Sisley, who is both a practicing physician and a clinical psychologist, focused on resolving Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Dr. Sisley has spent the last three years trying to get approval for a study involving medical marijuana. Because she believes medical marijuana could offer an effective treatment for sufferers of PTSD such as military veterans, despite the lack of clinical trials.

“Our veterans already know that marijuana is medicinal, significantly less toxic than many of the dangerous pharmaceutical cocktails prescribed to them and even more to the point - There is a mountain of anecdotal evidence suggesting that marijuana has been life-saving for these veterans. There are, on average, 22 reported veterans committing suicide a day in the US - this is unacceptable when we ask these young men and women to commit a large portion of their lives to defending their country - where is the safety net and open minded approach towards anything that could be a benefit to their successful re-entry into the USwhen they return home? If marijuana helps - and we already know that it does - the government is the only thing standing in the way.” – Dr. Sue Sisley - Director of Medicinal Plant Science at Heliospectra AB.

CBD-heavy plants can be the “right” crop even though cannabidiol remains technically illegal since it is classified as a Schedule I drug under federal law. However, CBD is found in hemp, which can be legally imported and sold in the U.S. Some companies have taken advantage of this loophole by importing high-CBD hemp extracts from other countries where hemp is produced.

LED: Providing the right light at the right time

The benefits of LEDs, like the Heliospectra LX60, include the use of “intelligent” wavelength controls like auto-spectral tuning and optimization. Manipulating the light quality of an LED lamp, with the purpose of mimicking the action spectrum of photosynthesis and key plant receptors enables growers to maximize yields by customizing their operations at the individual plant level. This means that each plant gets essential light where and when it needs it.